The Worth of a Heart
by Shini the megami
Summary: When Courage is dead who will fight? When Wisdom is gone who will guide? Revolution is upon Hyrule and a dark Power has taken over. Now the fate of Hyrule falls in the hands of Link's daughter. Will she be able to do it or will Hyrule be cast in darkness?
1. Chapter 1

**The Worth of a Heart**

By Shini the megami

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Legend of Zelda in any way, shape, or form. I am only burrowing it with every intention of giving it back….maybe. (Shifty eyes) Anything that does not feel familiar to you from Zelda is mine.

**Author's Note:** This takes place after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, except I'm kind of combining OoT Hyrule with Twilight Princess Hyrule and adding some things in it and spacing things out more to make in a properly sized country. It always bugged me that Hyrule seemed so small. Anyway I'll eventually attempt to draw a map of my Hyrule, so you can see what I mean. 'Tis all for now.

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**Chapter 1: A Mystery Unsolved**

"Take me wit you! Take me wit you!" came the high pitched squeal as a small body grabbed his leg in a vice-grip far stronger than Link thought possible for a four-year-old.

Link sighed and looked down at his small daughter, she looked very much like Zelda, or at least, what he imagined Zelda looked like as a four-year-old. She had golden colored hair tied back in a short ponytail, though it wasn't much of a ponytail anymore as most of her hair had escaped from its bindings. Large cornflower blue colored eyes stared up at him from a dirt covered face. Now that he looked at her more closely, her face was not the only thing covered in dirt. She, in fact, looked as if she had been rolling in a pile of dirt. Knowing his daughter, this was likely not far from the truth.

It had been four years since the birth of his daughter, five years since his marriage to Zelda, and truth be told Link had wanted a son. It was not as if he didn't love his daughter, because he did, she was his pride and joy. It was that he had not a clue about raising a girl; he was a man not a girl, despite knowing more girls than boys. He still doesn't quite know about raising a girl, mostly because he treated his daughter like a son.

Link detached his daughter from his leg and held her in his arms, not really caring that he was getting dirty himself. "You can't come, Kida," he tried to explain to her patiently, but she cut him off before he could get any farther.

"But why not?" Kida pouted, "You always go on a'ventrers, Papa. Why can' I?"

Link was starting to think using his adventures for Kida's bedtime stories was not one of the best ideas he had. Ever since he told Kida that first story she had been set on having her own "a'ventrer". But really, he couldn't help himself; Kida was the best audience he'd ever had. She gasped at all the right times in the story and everything. And plus it was hard to say no to her when she gave him those puppy eyes. Navi still chuckled at the Hero of Time's powerlessness against that gaze. "When you're older," he finally answered. Link had a feeling that this would come back to bite him when Kida was older. And really, Link wasn't going on an adventure. He was going to investigate a report of disturbances in a nearby village where some villagers have turned up dead.

When Link married Zelda, becoming a prince by marriage in the process, the King had taken pity on Link's utter boredom with politics and put him in command of the Royal Hylian Guard upon the original captain's retirement. Going on patrols and what not didn't allow him the same kind of freedom as before, but at least it was better than being stuck in the castle dealing with uptight nobles and their better-than-thou attitudes.

"You always say dat, Papa!" Kida's accusation brought Link out of his musing and back into the real world, "When will I be older?"

"Where is Auron?" Link countered, noticing for the first time that Kida's silent guardian was not present.

Kida's pout deepened, clearly not happy that her Papa wasn't answering her question, but answered anyway, "He got in trouble, so Mama is yellin' at him."

'Probably for Kida's state of uncleanliness and those guests that were arriving later today,' thought Link.

"When will I be older, Papa?" Kida asked again.

"I don't know, Kida," Link told here, he really had to go, his men were waiting for him, and he didn't have time to answer his daughter's endless questions, "But, you know who you should ask?"

"Who?" Kida asked, excited that she was getting her question answered.

"You should ask Auron, he knows everything you know. So, why don't you go find him."

"'Kay!" said Kida, apparently appeased with the answer and scurried off.

Link smiled, only feeling a little guilty for unleashing his daughter's questioning, which was likely to not stop after this question, on his friend. On that note, Link turned around to head for the stables to retrieve Epona.

* * *

After riding for about half an hour the village to which they were headed finally came into view. They hadn't talked much on the way and that suited Link just fine. His mind was on other matters.

Zelda had been having precognitive dreams recently of a woman who would bring great darkness over Hyrule. Then the deaths had happened, the timing had been disturbingly perfect. Not only that but the circumstances surrounding the deaths were unusual. The victims, four boys in their late teens and early twenties, had just turned up dead the morning after a visit to a pub. At first, one would probably think they had gotten a little too drunk and made the wrong person angry, but there was no sign of foul play on their bodies. No stab wounds or any sign they had been murdered. In fact, it was almost as if their heart had simply stopped beating in their chests. The same thing happened seven years ago, in which an entire village turned up dead with no apparent cause of death.

Link was abruptly forced out of his thoughts when a girl suddenly ran out in front of Epona. Link cursed, pulling back on Epona's reins to stop her. Epona reared up just as the girl seemed to have noticed them and froze for brief seconds before throwing herself out of the way in time to avoid being crushed under Epona's powerful hooves. Link dismounted and rushed over the girl. The girl, who seemed to be in her early teens, looked to be in shock. Link was not entirely sure she was okay, though she seemed to be, as she was staring down at the ground and her long, straight, dark brown hair was curtaining her face from view. "Goddesses, are you okay?" Link asked.

The girl looked up suddenly, as if just noticing Link was there, revealing a darkly tanned face and soft green eyes. In fact, it was her eyes that caught Link's attention the most. They were intense and seemed to stare through him, it made him a bit uncomfortable. "Yes," the girl said simply, she had a soft voice, but it was clear like the ring of a bell in cold air. The girl stood up then, Link standing with her, "I must go," she said. Then the girl turned, without another word or bow or any sign she had recognized who she had been speaking to, and walked away, rather quickly and somewhat tensely; like she would rather run away than walk away.

A young guard muttered something about the girl's lack of respect, but Link paid no heed to it. He watched the girl leave, wondering if it had been the best thing to let her walk the fields alone as they could be rather dangerous what with the monsters that sometimes roamed the fields during the day and at night. 'There's a town not far from here,' Link rationalized with himself, 'She'll likely make it there before nightfall.' Done reassuring himself, Link mounted Epona and they headed toward the village again.

* * *

"Wha-what is this!? This is more than a few villagers!" cried one of the guards. Link was inclined to agree with him. Villagers lay strewn across the ground, dead, but there was no blood, no wounds, no apparent cause of death. Link had thought it was far too quiet for a village at this time of day when they first arrived, but he had not expected this to be the reason why.

'What could have happened? Does this mean we just missed the—' something suddenly occurred to Link, 'That girl! She came from the direction of the village! Why hadn't I noticed that before?' Link ran to the entrance of the village and scanned the fields for the girl, but she was nowhere in sight, 'Where is she? She was on foot; she couldn't have gotten that far!' But, far she had gotten, it seemed. 'Did she teleport or something? Could she have used magic?'

* * *

The end for chapter one. Sorry for the rushed ending, I kind of, sort of wanted to get this done with. This chapter was pretty much to set some things up. Next chapter is when we get into the real story! So I hope you give this story a chance and stay tuned.

Anyway please review, I love to read what people think. I'll take constructive criticism, ideas, whatever you have for me. But, I'll tell you now, flames will be used to warm myself up because my room is freezing butt cold.

Also, I might change the title of this fanfic later on. The current working title: The Worth of a Heart was the best I could think of at the moment. So, until I think of a better title, it will likely remain The Worth of a Heart. Just a heads up, in case you decided to follow this fic.

Until next time then!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Legen of Zelda, I wish I did though. (sniff) I do own Kida, Rowen, Auron, Bergil, ect.

**Chapter Summary:** In which Kida lies to herself about some things and thinks she is sneaky. Auron _is_ sneaky. And something begins.

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Chapter 2: Twelve Years Later 

Hyrule Castle Town was as busy as ever that day, the streets overflowing with that day's crowd. The day was kind of cloudy, but there was a nice breeze and it had cooled down these last few days, it was overall a nice day, today. In fact, it was a good day to be out and about. One girl in the crowd, however, was not seeing the merit of this. She was instead seeing the annoyance in it.

The girl had long hair, the golden locks tied back in a high ponytail, with longish bangs that hung down in front of cornflower blue eyes. She wore a blue tunic over a dark blue long-sleeved undershirt and dark blue pants with black boots that came up about halfway between knee and foot. A sword dangled at her side.

She was walking beside a gray horse with a black mane and tail, trying to make her way through the crowd toward the South Gate, but this was proving to be a difficult task. As the girl walked on she repeatedly turned to look behind her, as if she was suspicious someone was following her. She would have just ridden her horse through the crowd, it would have probably made things somewhat easier, but that meant being above everyone else and thus easy to spot.

As the gate came into view, the girl ducked behind her horse. She didn't want the guard to recognize her, though she doubted he would, she would rather be safe than sorry. Plus she was sure she had met this particular guard before, which meant there _was_ a chance he might recognize her. Well, hopefully he wouldn't try to stop her, or even notice her.

"Hey!" the guard said blocking the girl's exit with his spear.

'Damn!' _Obviously_ this guard had not been informed that he was not supposed to notice her. The girl poked her head out above her horse, though only so that her eyes were visible and the rest of her face was hidden. 'Way to not look suspicious,' she thought, though she spoke in her most polite and non suspicious voice, "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

'What does it look like I am doing, you idiot!' "I am just leaving the city, is all," the girl replied.

"Then why are you hiding? Are you hiding something? Trying to smuggle something, are you?" The guard pressed, walking around the horse to the girl's side. The girl, in response, scurried in the opposite direction, trying to keep her face hidden. The guard was not amused by this. "Step out here," he ordered. "If you are just leaving the city, then you should have nothing to hide."

The girl wondered if she could bribe the guard into letting her pass. She checked herself for rupees, to shove down his throat for accusing her of being a thief, 'There are perfectly logical reasons for me to hide my face other than because I am hiding something, thank you,' but, nope, she had not thought to bring some. Perhaps she should start bringing rupees in case she had to bribe a guard or something.

With a resigned sigh the girl stepped out from behind her horse. She feigned a yawn; fingers splayed out across the bottom half of her face. She did not remove her hand after the false yawn had finished. She wondered briefly just how ridiculous she looked at the moment. "It is a lovely day, is it not?" she asked, trying to pretend her odd behavior was completely normal.

The guard raised an eyebrow at the girl's behavior, but seemed to not see anything suspicious about her, "Very well, you may pass."

The girl let out a relieved sigh, and led her horse past. Out on the field she mounted her horse and sped off. She loved the feel of the wind through her hair, blowing in her face. It was a feeling she couldn't get enough of; it was freedom. Something she only managed to steal in small handfuls, she never had it completely. Out here there were no walls to cage her like a songbird to be kept as a pretty pet. No hands to clip her wings, no responsibilities, no expectations. Out here she could be herself. Something else she was only able to get small amounts of.

The girl was headed for Lon Lon Ranch, to see her best friend, the grandson of the ranch's owner, Rowen. She always went to Lon Lon when she came out here; she never went farther than that. She wanted to go farther though; she wanted to see every inch of Hyrule; she wanted to see the entire world! But, every time she thought of just leaving to go on some grand adventure her courage would sputter and die, and she would end up talking herself out of it, making up some excuse to not go. It would seem she was only bold enough to sneak out when she was able and come to Lon Lon, but on arriving that boldness was no more. She would think about going beyond, but she would never dare to. It was a sad thought.

The girl pulled out of her thoughts as she rode up to the ranch's tall protective walls and gate. She went in and almost immediately her eyes fell upon a familiar figure in the large fenced corral. A smile formed on her face as she brought her hands up to cup around her mouth, walking faster toward the figure, "Rowen!" she called.

Rowen turned from grooming a mare the color of sand with a white mane and tail, a smile of his own forming as he waved at the girl and answered her call, "Kida! You managed to escape!"

"Yes," Kida said now at the fence, "I told them I was tired and that I was going to take a nap and not to disturb me."

"You think that'll work for long? What did you do? Put pillows under your blankets?" Rowen half teased.

If one were to describe Rowen in a Deku nut shell it would be something along the lines of pretty boy, followed by animal lover. He had dark red hair that was a little longer than just brushing his shoulders. Kida knew for a fact that it only looked soft and shiny at a distance and when he was out in the sun. The effect was ruined when you witnessed him getting his hand stuck in his hair. He had light gray eyes and he wore a short sleeved white shirt with slightly baggy blue pants and brown boots. Girls melted into puddles of Chu Chu jelly when he smiled, a lopsided smile Kida had to admit was kind of cute. As with most extremely handsome guys, Rowen was a bit into himself, but only to the point of having enough gall to date, and probably sleep with, much to Kida's ire, five girls at the same time.

Not that Kida was jealous, because she wasn't. She would have you know princesses don't get jealous. Especially when pretty farmer boys shamelessly flirted with any and all females in the vicinity regardless of age, species, race, or if they were even a person. Except for her, of course, who he treated like a normal person. Not that Kida minded because she wanted to be treated like a normal person, but— no, she was completely and utterly not jealous. Just like she was not in denial, which she also wasn't.

* * *

For a time, Kida and Rowen just hung out and talked. It was several hours later, Kida was sure, when Rowen looked up at the sky in the direction of the sinking sun. He looked back at Kida and said in a rather casual tone, "Isn't there going to be a banquet or something at the castle?" 

Kida stared at Rowen, a banquet? What was he— the banquet! She had completely forgotten about it! She was going to be late! Kida shot Rowen a glare, "If you knew I was going to be late, why did you not say anything earlier?" she cried, hitting Rowen on the arm before turning away, mounting her horse, Bergil, and hurrying toward the gate.

Rowen seemed wholly unfazed by the hit and called out to the retreating Kida, "You best hurry! It looks like rain, too!" Kida could practically hear the mischievous grin in Rowen's tone.

He did that on purpose, Kida just knew it. She was so going to get Rowen back if she got in trouble! Just then a large drop of water smacked Kida in the face. She reeled back in surprise, slowing her horse to a walk. Kida looked up at the gray, cloudy sky, another drop of water hit her in the face and then another until it was raining steadily. "Beautiful," Kida muttered. She sped Bergil up again.

* * *

At the castle, Kida, thoroughly drenched by this point, snuck back inside and headed toward the stables, she just needed to put Bergil up and then sneak into the castle all the way up to her room and get ready. Easy, right? Right. Kida took the saddle and what not off Bergil and put him in his stall. She, then, went to hang everything up. 

"Did you have a nice nap, Princess?" a soft voice said next to her ear.

Kida let out a rather undignified shriek and whirled around to come face to face with the Sheikah eye. The eye was on a dirty, beige colored sleeveless shirt. The shirt was over a black and dark blue skin-tight Sheikah suit. Bandages wrapped around the person's neck, all the way up to cover their lower face, and down below the collar of their clothes. The person, male the suit revealed, had piercing red eyes and dark skin; three long red upside-down triangles were tattooed along the bottom of each eye. He had white hair with bangs that partially concealed his left eye.

"Auron!" Kida exclaimed, "Wha-what are you doing here?"

Auron gave Kida a look that said the answer should be obvious, Kida chose to ignore the look. It was then that Kida noticed Auron was wet. 'Was he following me?' she wondered, 'No, he is probably wet from coming out here to the stables. He did not know I was planning to sneak out; he must have seen I was missing from my rooms, is all.'

"You are very late, Princess," Auron said.

"I know, I know. But it does not matter, because I do not really want to attend the banquet," Kida gave her guardian a hopeful smile, "Perhaps I could come up with an excuse to not attend, then it really will not matter if I am late."

"You know you must attend, Princess. I will finish putting everything up in here," Auron said, holding out his hand to take the riding equipment, "You go clean yourself up and get ready before you get into anymore trouble."

Kida opened her mouth wanting to argue that she was the crown princess and he was just her bodyguard, he couldn't order her around. Both, she and Auron knew Kida wasn't going to do anything to back up her words though and she would just be sent on her way, 'Like usual,' Kida grumped, so she closed her mouth with a click of teeth hitting teeth. Kida heaved an over-dramatic sigh, and handed Auron her riding equipment, albeit somewhat forcefully, turned and left the stables.

* * *

Kida couldn't go through the main entrance, she knew that. She would have to sneak in from a side entrance, though the main entrance would probably be faster and less wet, but Kida was already drenched so she figured a little more water wouldn't hurt her. She walked to the side of the castle, sneaking past the guards, which was quite the feat nowadays as they were a lot more alert and cautious, almost to the point of being paranoid, since they'd found out a ten year old boy had managed to sneak past them. Just then Kida came to a section with no guards. 'That is odd. There are usually a lot more guards during things like banquets, what with all the nobles and foreign guests.' 

Something bright off to the side, next to a hedge wall caught Kida's eyes. She stopped and walked toward it, curious. Upon closer inspection Kida found it to be a ball of light with four wings sticking out of it. 'Navi?' But, this fairy was violet, not blue. "Are you lost?" Kida asked. It was a valid question; you don't find many guardian fairies outside the Lost Woods, after all.

The fairy started, or at least Kida thought it started. "Are you Princess Kida?" it asked in a high-pitched, female if Kida was any judge, voice.

"A-ah, yes. Yes I am. Were you looking for—"

"I have an urgent message for you!" the fairy cried before Kida could finish.

"For me?" Kida pointed at herself.

But, Kida didn't get her question answered, as they were suddenly not alone. Kida cupped her hands around the fairy, hushing it and ducking behind the hedge wall. There were people talking, two people to be exact, two men.

"So, it's tonight, right?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah, we'll lure the guards away from the entrance and give the signal just like we were told," said the other.

They have to lure the guards away and give a signal? Like they were told? Who told them? Kida had a very bad feeling. Something was going to happen tonight and Kida had a feeling it wasn't the banquet. She peeked around the hedge wall to see who the men were, but the sun had set completely a while back and Kida could only see the men's silhouettes in the darkness. A convenient bolt of lightning lit up the sky for a few seconds. It was more that enough time for Kida to get a look at the men.

Guards, they were guards. Was what was going to happen tonight what she thought it was, what it sounded like it was? Perhaps if she stuck around and listened for a little while longer the men would say what it was.

"And then, when we have eliminated all the obstacles, the rightful king of Hyrule will take the throne," one of the men was saying when Kida tuned back into them.

What? The only king of Hyrule Kida knew of was her father. Her mother didn't have any brothers, did she?

"King Ganondorf will take Hyrule and the reins of its destiny back from the sky witches' hands."

"Ganondorf!" But he was sealed in the sacred realm, wasn't he?

"Who's there?" one of the men called.

Kida clamped a hand over her mouth, had she said that out loud? She turned and started to run in the opposite direction, she had to warn someone before it was too late. The violet light she could see from the corner of her eye told her the fairy was following her. Suddenly Kida tripped, over what she did not know, and crashed into another hedge wall.

The two guards had heard, "They're over there!" one called to the other. Kida could here their boots pounding against the wet path, getting louder the closer they got.

"Run!" she heard the fairy yell at her.

Kida scrambled to her feet and began to run again. She ran under a stone arch, lit by a torch lined wall, which the path ran through, sheltering her, at least for now, from the rain. Kida looked over shoulder to see if the two guards were indeed following her, when she, yet again, collided with something. She stumbled backward a few steps, but did not fall, and looked around to see what she had hit. What she had hit turned out to be a tall figure wearing a long black cloak with the hood up so that Kida could not see the figure's face. The figure was holding a long black sword. Kida reached for her own sword at her side, her father had taught her to fight with swords, she could take them. She hoped.

But, before Kida could unsheathe her sword, the cloaked figure started forward and grabbed her. And then there was only pain. Kida's eyes went wide; her hand fell away from her sword to hang limply at her side. She looked down to see the black sword impaling her through the middle. The figure pulled the sword out of her and Kida staggered backward a step or two, one hand pressed to the wound. She pulled her hand away and looked at it, her palm and fingers were covered in blood. Her blood, a part of mind registered, they were covered in _her_ blood. She could feel it running warm down her back, contrasting with the cool rain water that still clung to her. She could see it turning more and more of the blue of her tunic blackish purple. She could smell it.

She didn't want to die.

Her hand was shaking, it wouldn't stop. She was shaking.

She didn't want to die.

She was breathing in rapid, shaky, shallow breathes. She was beginning to hyperventilate; it was making her feel light-headed. Or, maybe it was the blood loss, there was so much.

'Please,' Kida screamed, out loud or in her mind Kida wasn't sure, to the goddesses, to somebody, to anybody, 'I do not want to die!'

Distantly, Kida heard the pursuing footfalls of the two guards come to a stop. "This will make a very nice distraction indeed. Pity she'll be dead by the time they find her," someone said, truthfully Kida wasn't sure if the figure in front of her had said it, or one of the two guards behind her.

Something hard slammed into her skull with brutal force. Kida's world fell into darkness. The last thing she heard was "One down, three more to go."

* * *

Bum bum baaa! Cliffhanger no jutsu! Oh, wait, wrong fandom. Sorry about that.

You probably guessed the girl was, or at least might be, Kida after the description. Unless, for some weird reason, you started reading this fanfic at the second chapter and not the first chapter, then you probably have no idea who Kida is.

This chapter was actually supposed to end a little differently than this. Kida was still supposed to get stabbed at the end, but some other things were supposed to happen before that point. I couldn't make it work, so I changed the ending some. The other things I mentioned are probably going to show up next chapter. Unless I change that too.

In other news, please review.

See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Legend of Zelda in any way, shape, or form. Kida, Fera, Tali, and anything or anybody that does not feel familiar to you from Zelda is probably mine.

**Chapter Summary:** In which someone wakes up. We meet Fera. And a journey starts.

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**Chapter 3: Journey's Start**

"My Lord, we dumped her body here, we swear," a guard said, a pleading note in his voice, "She was dying, bleeding to death, when we left her. There is no way she could have moved from this spot."

"Then, why is she not here?" Ganondorf shot back.

They were standing by a group of large wooden boxes beside the mote of the castle, behind the boxes blood, the rain from hours before failing to completely wash it away, stained the wet ground. The source of the blood, however, was nowhere in sight. A tall figure cloaked in black stood next to Ganondorf.

"She must be found," the figure said in a soft feminine voice. Soft though the voice was, it was clear, like the ring of a bell in cold air; it was a flat voice though, void of emotion. "She is the key to your downfall. The blood of Courage and Wisdom must be eliminated."

Ganondorf said nothing for a time, as if contemplating what to do.

"You do not trust my words?" the figure said, turning toward the door next to the boxes, "You forget my goal is the same as your's." With that the figure entered the castle, leaving Ganondorf and the guard behind.

"Find her," Ganondorf said.

"S-sir?"

"I said find her! And once she's found, kill her," Ganondorf ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" was the guard's reply before hurrying off.

Now Ganondorf stood alone, staring at the blood stained ground. A fist clinched, "This time, I will not fail," he said to the stains, before turning sharply away from the spot and heading back inside the castle himself.

* * *

She was awake, that was the first thing she knew. The second was that she was lying on her back on something soft and something was covering her partially. Kida opened her eyes, with rather a lot of effort which alarmed Kida greatly. And then immediately shut them again as the place she was in was filled with a bright light. 'Am I dead?' Kida recalled that the Sacred Realm was supposed to be bright. She turned her head away from that light and opened her eyes again to find a wall. She wondered if she was she in her room. If so, then that meant everything had just been a nightmare. Kida's eyes traveled down to what she was laying on, a bed. Not her bed, Kida's mind registered, not her room. Her question had been answered; no, it had not been a nightmare. 

It was at this moment that her body seemed to catch up with her mind and Kida became aware of a pain in her head and a pain in the middle of her back. The pain in her back was easily far worse than her headache. It seemed to cut completely through her and radiate out from that point in all directions. Kida wondered how she had not noticed the pain before.

A small violet light caught Kida's eye and she turned toward it, squinting against the light when it sent a jolt of pain through her skull. 'Damn this headache. Damn whoever hit me.' The violet light was the fairy. "Why are you here?" she asked, she sounded like she had swallowed a frog!

"I'm supposed to stick with you," the fairy said.

"Oh, well then perhaps we should introduce ourselves if we are going to be together," she could really go for some water. "My name is Kida, nice to meet you."

"Tali, nice to meet you too, Princess," the fairy said.

Kida made a face, "Just call me Kida," she told Tali. Then a thought struck her, "Tali, how did we get here?"

"I'm not sure. After those people knocked you out, they threw you behind these boxes by the mote. I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't. Then there was this bright light and suddenly we were in a forest. Then a man came and took you here," Tali said this all very fast and Kida could just barely keep up.

"Where is here?" Kida was asking, but before she could finish the question a woman walked into the room and Tali darted out of sight.

The woman had black hair that was pulled back into a bun. She had blue eyes and fair skin. She was wearing a rather decorative, expensive-looking dress. Kida figured the woman was probably wealthy, but this woman did not have pointed ears, and she wondered if she was not in Hyrule anymore.

The woman seemed to notice Kida studying her, "Oh, you are awake?" she said, walking toward Kida. The woman poured a goblet of what seemed to be water from a pitcher beside Kida's bed, "Are you thirsty, dear? You have been asleep for quite a while." The woman then helped Kida sit up and handed her the goblet.

Kida swallowed the water down gratefully, 'A-ah, sweet relief!' When she had finished, Kida turned to look at the woman, only to find the woman studying her with a look on her face somewhere between worry and confusion. "Who are you?" Kida asked.

The woman started as if startled out of her thoughts, but then she answered, "I am Fera Damasca."

Kida did not recognize the name. "Where is this?"

"You are on my estate that lies near the boarder of Hyrule and Celes."

"Oh," so she was close to the boarder of Hyrule, good. She needed to get back, the faster the better. Kida tried to remember where the country of Celes was, digging back into her memory, picturing maps she had studied in the castle's immense library long ago. She remembered a small country boarding Hyrule in the north-west. So she was near Hyrule's north-western boarder.

"If you are done with your questions, I have questions of my own for you," said Fera, apparently taking Kida's silence as meaning she was done, before going on without Kida's consent to the questioning, "What happened to you? My husband found you in the woods on our estate. You had a terrible head wound and a wound through your middle like you had been impaled on a sword. Potions were not working on the stab wound. The doctor said that this was because it was a dark wound, which some kind of poison was preventing the wound from closing by magical means."

Kida did not answer. She did not know what she was supposed to say. She did not think Lady Fera would believe her if she told her the truth.

"There is word of a revolution in Hyrule. Is that how you were injured?" the older woman pressed.

Kida's eyes went wide slightly, 'So they were successful?' "Yes," Kida said when she realized Fera was waiting for her answer, "I-I was trying to escape," she lied.

"So, the rumors were true," Fera said, apparently to herself, then asked Kida, "Were there others with you? Others who were trying to escape with you?"

Kida wanted to be alone. She wanted this woman, with her sad worried expression and soft consoling voice, gone so she could think of something to do. So, Kida made her lower lip quiver as if she were about to cry. She bit her lip then, and turned her head away. One hand rose to shield her eyes from view and she inhaled deeply through her nose, only to exhale shakily through her mouth. Kida could hear the other woman asking if she was alright. "May-may I have some time alone?" was Kida's reply in a voice that sounded as if she were trying to keep it steady.

It worked, the woman left the room. Kida could be an outstanding actor when she wanted to be, it came with the Princess position. She learned long ago that when it came to matters of court, acting was your best weapon. People were more likely to let information slip in front of her if she made them think she was just a silly little girl who had not the slightest clue how court actually works. Auron had said once when she was about to begin her act that she was "putting on her Princess Mask", for when Kida put on her act she became the image of innocence and naiveté, always quietly obedient and demure in every way just like the fairytale princesses you found in bedtime stories. Wearing that mask had become something of a habit, sometimes even when she was not in front of the court.

She supposed she would have to bide her time here until her wound healed, or healed enough, and then she would escape from this place and head for the nearest town. She would gather supplies, and then make for the boarder of Hyrule. For now, that was what she would focus on. It was all she would allow herself to focus on. She could not think about the future, if she did she would inadvertently think about her parents and what might have happened to them. She would think about what might have happened to Auron and Impa. She would think about her friends, the few that she had; she would think about all the other people she cared about in her country. She would think about Rowen. And she could not; she would not, because if she did she would fall to despair. And she could not do that either. She could only live in the present; it was all she could handle.

It had been like that since her betrothal some weeks back. Those some weeks ago Kida's mother had told her that in two years time when she turned eighteen she was to marry a certain foreign prince. Kida must have looked shocked because her mother had taken on a sad sympathetic look.

"I know this is sudden, Kida. But, this marriage will make our two countries allies and the trade we will gain with them will be beneficial for Hyrule. And Hyrule needs the trade," her mother had said.

Kida did not object, it was "for Hyrule"; her mother must have known that was what would clinch it. Kida could not deny her people. To deny her people just because she did not want to marry a stranger would be selfish. As a princess, Kida could not be selfish when it came to her people. It always did. None the less, Kida's mother's words of sympathy and comfort had been empty coming from a woman who married for love and not convenience. So, Kida had slipped on her Princess Mask, because when she had it on she did not have to think about anything, she only had to be obedient and demure, and smiled sweetly then left the room.

A week ago the prince and his parents came to Hyrule castle for the banquet in celebration of the betrothal and so that Kida and the prince could get to know each other. The prince had looked just as depressed about the whole thing as Kida felt. When they were left to get to know each other, they did no such thing. They had sat there, looking anywhere but at the other, completely silent. Kida had not wanted to get to know the prince and she had a feeling the feeling was mutual. All Kida could think about was that she had two years left. Seven hundred and thirty days of very limited freedom left, she'd wondered why that felt like such a short time.

A monstrous thought struck Kida then that made her want to vomit for even thinking it, she hoped the prince died in the attack on the castle.

* * *

Two and a half weeks passed before Kida was allowed up. The stab wound was healing on its own, with very little complications, much to the doctor's surprise. The Lady Fera had bought her these lovely dresses and shoes for her to wear, Kida had accepted them graciously, though she would rather have a tunic and leggings instead. But, alas, tunics and leggings would not be proper for a young lady. So, Kida wore what they gave her. 

This day found Kida outside wandering the woods that lay within the estate grounds. Tali flew along beside her, they were discussing a way to escape, Kida was pretty happy with what they had so far.

"I've finally found you, Princess Kida," a soft, emotionless voice said.

Tali's violet glow turned red and Kida's hand went to her side to unsheathe a sword that was not there. Kida looked around trying to find the source of the voice, "Where are you? Show yourself!"

A tall figure cloaked in black stepped out of the shadows. Kida took a step back, remembering the cloaked figure who had stabbed her. Her hands rose unconsciously to shield her midsection where the still healing stab wound was. The move did not go unnoticed by the figure.

"I mean you no harm. I have just come to give you," the figure paused then as it withdrew something from beneath its cloak. It looked like a bundle, "a gift," the figure finished and it threw the bundle on the ground between them.

Kida did no move to retrieve the bundle; she instead continued to stare at the figure, not daring to take her eyes off of it.

"Take it," the figure told her, "I swear I will not try anything."

Kida stared at the figure for a few seconds longer, trying to decide if she should trust its word, before cautiously moving forward, still refusing to take her eyes off of the figure. Once she reached the bundle she knelt slightly and snatched it up before quickly retreating back to her previous spot. Only then did she chance a glance down at the bundle. It was awfully light for a bundle of something. Kida quickly unraveled it to find a dress. A very dirty and torn up looking dress stained with a rust colored substance. The dress looked familiar, but Kida could not place where she had seen it. She did not understand why the figure had given her this.

Kida looked up to ask the figure just that, but the figure had disappeared. Kida looked back down at the dress. Beneath the dirt and dark rust colored stains Kida could make out elaborate embroidered designs. She held the dress out away from her and brushed of some of the dirt that had clung to the cloth from when it was on the ground to reveal rich colors. She tried to picture what the dress would have looked like when it was clean and new. Then it hit her, she knew where she had seen the dress from. It was her mother's. And the rust colored stains, they looked almost like, no, they could not be blood stains, they just could not. Kida did not want to think about what that could mean, that her mother was dead. This had to be a trick.

Kida clutched the dress to her. Why is her mother's dress here and not on her mother, then, her mind questioned. Kida felt her eyes begin to sting with unshed tears, felt her lower lip quiver. She bit it, she had told herself she would not cry. If her mother was alive then her dress would not be covered in blood. She took a deep breath in through her nose trying to regain control of her emotions, then let it out shakily through her mouth. She would not, she could not cry. If this was her mother's dress, then this might not be a trick. A tear splashed down onto the dress creating a tiny wet spot. Kida sniffled before burying her face into the cloth of the dress, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Kida…?" Tali called to her, hovering a few inches in front of her, at a loss of what to do.

'Please, please, do not be dead,' Kida pleaded silently.

* * *

A black horse rode up to the ranch, passing through its gates. Once inside the horse's rider dismounted. The rider was a woman. She wore a long sleeved, black tunic with a high colored white undershirt and black leggings. Her hair was blonde-white in color and hung a few inches above about mid-back. The woman's long bangs were tied back behind her head, the ends of which were braided into two long braids. She had violet eyes. 

The ranch was no longer as it had been. The sign announcing it to be Lon Lon Ranch was falling off. The house smoldered still from the fire that had destroyed it. The fencing of the corral had been destroyed in places. A few Cukoo roamed the place, while the bodies of other Cukoo littered the ground among the bodies of cows and the few bodies of the men who undoubtedly caused the damage. There were no horse bodies though; likely taken by the men whose bodies did not litter the ground.

All but one horse the color of sand, Gerudo if its coloring meant anything. The horse went wild upon seeing the woman's approach, ears pressed flat on its head, eyes wide with fear, rearing up and stamping. It was then that the woman noticed a body lying face down next to the horse. Its head just inches from where the horse's hooves stamped down on the earth.

The woman rushed up to the horse then, rising up a hand toward it, whispering to it, trying to calm it down. It seemed to be working. The horse had stopped rearing; its ears were no longer pressed against its head. Though, the horse still seemed agitated. Once the horse was calm enough, the woman turned to the body. She rolled it over onto its back; it was a boy with dark red hair that looked to fall to about his shoulders. The boy would have looked handsome had his face not been covered in blood and dirt. The boy's chest rose and fell with shallow breathes, he was still alive.

"If I'm too late, I'm sorry," the woman whispered to the boy before she picked him up in her arms and turned to the sand colored horse, "Come, I'll take you and your master to a safe place," she told the horse as if expecting it to understand. Yet when she turned and began to walk back to her own horse, arms still full with the boy, the horse followed.

Once the woman had the boy and herself situated on her horse they left the ranch, the sand colored horse following.

* * *

It was night now on the estate and everyone was asleep. Everyone, except Kida and Tali. Kida hurried around the room as quietly as she could. 

"Kida you must calm down. We haven't thought everything through yet, we can't leave now," Tali tried to reason with her.

"Shhhh! You will wake them," Kida whispered.

Kida was not listening to Tali. She needed to leave and she needed to leave now. There was nothing Tali could do to stop her. So, that was why Kida was packing to get ready. She had found a large satchel bag in the closet of her room which now lay on her bed. It was already filled with her mother's dress, and several jars of water and bundles of food that she had snuck out of the kitchens earlier.

Kida kicked off the shoes she had been wearing; they would not be good for walking long distances in. She would have to do something about this dress as well. Kida started going through drawers until she found a pair of scissors. She cut the skirt of her dress off just above her knees. There, now it would be easier for her to walk in. Kida put the sword belt she had taken from a weapons cabinet around her waist and attached the scabbard and sword she had also taken to it. Last, Kida cut a strip of cloth from the discarded part of her skirt off and used it to tie her hair back in a high ponytail. When she got to a town she would have to buy some proper clothes, but for now this would do. She had been looking at maps for a few days now, memorizing where towns were and how far and which direction they were. Kida thought she was pretty well set except one thing, she needed money.

Kida opened the door quietly, and glanced up and down the hall to check if anyone was up and about. Finding nothing she stepped out of the room and crept toward the end of the hall to where she knew Lady Fera and her husband slept. A floorboard creaked and Kida paused listening for a sign that the sound had woken someone up. For several seconds, perhaps even minutes, she listened. Kida was not sure how much time had passed before she dared to move again, it seems longer than it probably was. Then again, it was probably because she was so nervous. She could not believe she was going to do this, but it was the only way she could think of to obtain money.

Once at the door, Kida grabbed the knob and slowly, very slowly, turned it, pushing the door open and thanking the goddesses that Lady Fera and her husband kept their hinges well oiled. Kida eyes darted around the room, looking for a likely place they would keep their money, it was a difficult task to say the least as it was rather dark and the only light source came from dim moonlight filtering into the room through closed curtains. Her eyes landed on a small chest sitting on a vanity table. Kida knelt on the floor then and crawled, just in case they did wake up, quietly and slowly toward the vanity.

She tried to open the chest, the lid would not budge, but she should have expected that. Lady Fera would have been dumb to leave it unlocked if it did indeed hold their money. She needed the key, so she opened the vanity drawer, because she did not expect the key to be on the table top. The contents of the drawer clanged and bumped into each other and Kida had to cringe. She shot a look over her shoulder at the bed's occupants to see if she had woken them, but all that happened was that one of them rolled over. Kida released a mental sigh of relief before carefully feeling through the drawer. Her hand brushed across a metallic something that felt, from what Kida had actually felt, like a key. She grabbed at the metallic object and withdrew it from the drawer. Luck must have been on her side that night, for it was indeed a key.

Kida put the key in the keyhole of the chest, it went in. She tried to turn it, it turned. Everything was going well so far, all Kida needed was for this chest to hold money and everything would be perfect. She placed her hands on the lid, almost giddy with anticipation. She opened the lid and almost shouted with joy when she saw the drawstring purse lying within. She lifted the purse from the chest, reminding herself that despite her excitement she had to be quiet.

Kida crept back to her room then, where Tali was waiting for her. She had not let the fairy come with her for fear that Tali's violet glow would wake someone. Kida stowed the money purse in her bag. She grabbed the bag and put the strap around her shoulder. Kida opened the window, which was conveniently next to a tree, then turned back to the room, feeling guilty for her actions. She walked over to the desk in the room and found the ink, quill, and parchment in the drawers of the desk.

"I am sorry for leaving so suddenly, but something has come up. I have taken with me a satchel bag, some bundles of food, some jars of water, a sword and scabbard, a sword belt, and," Kida paused in her writing, suddenly overcome by shame for her actions, but forced herself to continue writing, "your money. I am sorry for taking these things, but there is something I must do and I need supplies. I will return everything to you one day, you have my word." Kida signed the note "Kierra" for that was the name she had given them.

Kida stared at the note for some time. She could not believe she was doing this; this was no way for a princess to act. She clinched her fists, she always did this. She always doubted herself, but it was too late now. She could not turn back. And she did not. Kida turned from the note and walked back to the window.

Kida climbed up on the window sill and made the small jump between the tree and window, hissing when the action sent a shock of pain through her middle. She motioned for Tali to follow her before climbing down the tree. Once her feet hit the ground, she looked around to make sure no one was around, and then started off in the direction of the nearest town.

* * *

After walking for a time, Kida stopped. Her feet were bruised and cut from walking barefoot in the woods she was in now, she was hungry, and she was tired. She had to stop, she would continue tomorrow. 

Kida gathered sticks of the ground and made a fire. She sat in front of it, before pulling off her a bag and rummaged through it for the food and water. For a time after that she sat, staring into the flames. Tali sat on her shoulder, silent. Tali had been like this since they left. Kida wondered what was eating her.

The silence stretched on until a loud snap like a large stick breaking sounded behind her. Kida practically jumped out of her skin as she whipped around, her heart in her throat. She did not see anything. She stared in the direction the sound came from for a while more, hesitant to turn back around, terrified something would jump out at her if she did. Tali was still her violet glow, the last time a threat had shown up she had turned red.

'So, it must be nothing,' Kida told herself.

Kida turned back around, but every once in a while she would throw a look over her shoulder. She sighed and stared down at the food and water, before shoving the items back in her bag. She was not hungry anymore; her stomach was too tied up in knots for her to be able to eat.

Kida drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, then buried her face in her knees. For the second time that night she wondered if this really had been a good idea. She did not even know what she could really do by going back to Hyrule. Just like how she did not know what she was doing now. All she knew was that she was scared.

* * *

There, chapter 3 done. Sorry it took so long for me to finish it. School's been keeping me busy.

Thank you, Bebonator100, for the review!

That's about all for now. See you next time!


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